Want To Get To The Top Of The Mackinac Bridge? Here’s How!

As AC/DC once sang 'It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n' roll'.

It's also a long way to get to be one of the few people to go to the top of the Mackinac Bridge.

In 2018, 281 people rode the elevator to the top of the Mackinac Bridge. It's one of the most iconic views in all of Michigan with both peninsulas sprawled about below you on either side.

Most of those people were VIPs who know somebody who knows somebody. But 50 of those slots went to people just like you and me. Curious, adventure seekers who got the treat of their lifetimes, albeit cramped into a small elevator and shooting up 350 feet.

Nearly all the tower tour certificates for the 2019 season are already claimed or set to be auctioned off at private events. There are, however, two opportunities left that are open to everyone:

The Pointe aux Barques Lighthouse Society in Huron County (in the northern tip of the Thumb) is selling raffle tickets for $25 each or five for $100. Organizer Sandra Affholter estimates they’ve sold about 275 tickets thus far; they’ll sell up to 1,000 max.

Visit www.pointeauxbarqueslighthouse.org to enter. The drawing will be held May 18. You don’t need to be present to win, but you must send payment in advance to purchase tickets. (They aren’t setup to accept online payment.)

If you’d rather not rely on random chance in a drawing, the East Lansing Educational Foundation is holding an online auction from May 6-20 at www.32auctions.com/elef

Winning a Mackinac Bridge tower tour at auction likely won’t be cheap; the winning bid at the Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum auction in Naubinway (in the Upper Peninsula) was $2,700.

If you’re lucky enough to win the raffle or auction, you’ll have to coordinate with the Mackinac Bridge Authority to schedule the tour on a weekday from May 1 through Oct. 15, 2019 and sign a liability waiver. No minimum age requirement, but you must be 56″ or taller and weigh at least 80lbs. They don’t have a maximum height or weight limit but there is a 16-inch-by-12-inch hole (with a circumference of about 45 inches) to pass through while climbing a ladder.